The 2010 ProEurope Congress

This was the official website for the 2010 ProEurope Congress.
Content is from the site's 2010 archived pages.

PRO EUROPE

PRO EUROPE s.p.r.l. (Packaging Recovery Organisation Europe), founded in 1995, is the umbrella organisation for the packaging and packaging waste recovery schemes which mainly use the "Green Dot" trademark. PRO EUROPE acts as the authoritative voice and common policy platform for its members, representing the interests of all packaging recovery and recycling organisations mainly using the "Green Dot".

The members of PRO EUROPE wish to demonstrate that the recycling of used packaging is an important step on the path towards the sustainable development that is necessary to safeguard our planet for future generations. Their work in Europe and worldwide is both successful and transparent.

PRO EUROPE is headquartered in Brussels. The President is Henri Meiresonne (Fost Plus, Belgium), the General Manager is Joachim Quoden, and Pascal Gislais and Ursula Denison act jointly as Secretary Generals.

MISSION STATEMENT

Over the years, the bi-annual PRO EUROPE Congress has become a much awaited meeting platform for all stakeholders to reflect on achievements, voice new strategies and debate current EU policy on packaging and waste management as well as environmental and business issues at large.

Building on the success of the previous editions, PRO EUROPE's fifth Congress “Green Dot 2010: Green Economy in Action” will be looking at how waste and resource management as well as enhanced implementation of the producer responsibility principle contribute to the shift towards a Green Economy, both from a political and business perspective. We are proud to organise this year’s edition under the patronage of Mr Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment and with the support of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

"Green Dot 2010: Green Economy in Action"

"Green Economy in Action" reflects our belief that our economic sector is at the forefront of this new Economy that is being called upon to answer an increasingly wide-spread environmental awareness, notably boosted by the mainstream resonance of climate change, and the financial crisis.

The United Nations Environment Programme defines Greening the economy' as "the process of reconfiguring businesses and infrastructure to deliver better returns on natural, human and economic capital investments, while at the same timereducing greenhouse gas emissions, extracting and using less natural resources, creating less waste and reducing social disparities.” The purpose of the Congress is to explore what is being done in this sense in our sector and what needs to be done to further this process. It will also be an opportunity to look into current and future trends in EU environment policy that will shape the framework within which the producer responsibility systems operate.

The Congress will also be the opportunity to look into PRO EUROPE’s strategy and commitments on:

Facilitating international transfer of best practices in the field of resource and waste management as well as sustainability.

Encouraging sustainable consumption and production amongst industry, society, and policy.

Promoting environmental education and citizenship.

As for previous editions, the guiding principles of the 2010 Congress will be interactivity, high-level content and forward-looking vision. Learn more about the 2010 Congress programme here.

"Packaging 2020: Cradle to Cradle Management"

For the first time, this year the Congress will be preceded by an ad-hoc seminar on extended producer responsibility (EPR). "Packaging 2020: Cradle to Cradle Management" is geared towards an audience interested in learning more about EPR and how it works. Twenty years after the implementation of the first producer responsibility principle for packaging waste in Europe, PRO EUROPE and EUROPEN, want to share European best practice with colleagues in the world. By doing so we want to provide them with a sound basis to better understand the Congress's core discussions the days after.

The PRO EUROPE 2010 Congress invites you on 7 & 8 October 2010 to discover how waste and resource management as well as enhanced implementation of the producer responsibility principle contribute to the shift towards a Green Economy, both from a political and business perspective.

The fifth edition of the PRO EUROPE Congress is organized under the patronage of Mr Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment and with the support of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will provide all stakeholders with a meeting platform to reflect on achievements, voice new strategies and debate current EU policy on packaging and waste management issues.

The Congress will be preceded on Wednesday 6 October 2010 by an ad-hoc seminar, co-organized with EUROPEN, geared towards an audience interested in learning more about producer responsibility.

The Congress will take place in the newly renovated SQUARE – Brussels Meeting Centre, right in the heart of cosmopolitan Brussels, the spiritual and administrative capital of Europe.

We look forward to meet you on 7 & 8 October 2010.

Welcome note by Henri Meiresonne, Chairman of PRO EUROPE

We are delighted to welcome you to the 5th PRO EUROPE Congress which is taking place in the heart of Europe - Brussels. This is a doubly auspicious occasion with Belgium holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The focus of this year’s Congress is the ‘Green Economy in Action’ which will explore how resource and waste management contribute to environmental responsibility. This is a key issue in European waste policy today and is a core component of driving Europe forward on a path to sustainable economic growth. This is an issue of great importance at both the political and business level.

PRO EUROPE and its members have been committed to demonstrating how recycling contributes to effective waste management and showing that effective policies relating to recycling can enhance environmental protection. Together we work to offer our expertise to policy makers and consumers to change behaviour leading to improved environmental responsibility from both industry and the wider public.

With a broad group of attendees, covering all the major actors in the field of waste management, we are confident that this Congress will once again provide its attendees with a stimulating platform for the exchange of information and the sharing of best practices for a more sustainable future. I am sure that like me, you will be excited at the prospect of hearing new ideas and proposals during the Congress, which could contribute to future initiatives in the waste management policy field.

I am also delighted that the PRO EUROPE Congress will be preceded on 6 October for the first time with an ad-hoc seminar “Packaging 2020: Cradle to Cradle Management” geared towards an audience interested in learning more about producer responsibility. The seminar, co-organized with EUROPEN, will give participants a sound basis of the principles on producer responisibility so that they can gain more from the Congress’ core discussions the days after.

I look forward to welcoming you to our Congress in Brussels.

Henri Meiresonne

Welcome note by Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment

As Patron of the 5th International PRO EUROPE Congress, I am delighted that the theme for this year’s Congress will be “Green Dot 2010: Green Economy in Action”. This reflects the attention that the European Commission is now focusing on the green economy.

It is increasingly clear that we need to get over the old perception of a dichotomy between the economy and the environment: the environment should be an integral part of all policies. The PRO EUROPE Congress will offer an excellent platform to discuss the important question of ‘how we can move forward to achieve a green economy‘. In the post crisis context the discussion must also address how the EU can use the green economy to exit the crisis successfully and on a more sustainable basis in every sense.

One of the key priorities of my mandate as European Commissioner for the Environment is the promotion of more sustainable consumption and production. Waste and recycling policy will be an integral part of this. We must find ways to avoid producing more waste than is absolutely necessary – but we also need to apply best practices and new business models which recover value from the waste we can't avoid producing.

PRO EUROPE and its members are clearly contributing to ensuring that the EU’s environmental objectives are met in the most appropriate way, in diverse regional circumstances, across Europe. Through effective action at local and regional levels, they have helped deliver tangible results in the context of EU policies and frameworks. Initiatives such as the 'Green Dot' make a significant and effective contribution to recycling and packaging waste management.

PRO EUROPE’s two-day Congress will present a great opportunity for a forward-looking debate on issues such as the future of recycling after the crisis, sustainable consumption & production, resource management, better implementation of existing legislation, and other issues with regard to the greening of the economy.

I look forward to welcoming you to a stimulating and constructive debate at the Congress, here in the heart of Europe.

WEDNESDAY 6 OCTOBER 2010:

A SEMINAR ON EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

Join high-level experts and decision-makers from the international packaging community on 6 October 2010 in Brussels for a one day seminar to assess the progress of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and consider its future evolution.

"Packaging 2020: Cradle to Cradle Management"

Twenty years ago EPR for packaging was pioneered in Europe. Consumer goods producers, packaging suppliers, public authorities, citizens and the waste management and recycling industry began working together to improve the sustainability of packaging waste management. Packaging optimisation and new innovations surged and the recovery of packaging waste dramatically increased.

In recent years, the concept of EPR as a means of managing packaging waste issues has spread globally, especially in North America and Asia.

Attend this unique event, jointly hosted by EUROPEN and PRO EUROPE, and participate with international experts in discussing questions such as:

What has packaging EPR achieved so far?
20 years later, could EPR have been better designed?
Is EPR in Europe too expensive and unsustainable or, on the contrary, is it working much better than expected?
What lessons can be learned from Europe’s experience and what is the future for EPR in other regions of the world?
How close are we to realize the ambition of low cost, low environmental impact, cradle-to-cradle packaging systems?
The programme of this seminar is available here.

Practicals:

This seminar will take place on Wednesday 6 October 2010 in Hotel Le Plaza in 1000 Brussels.